African born women living with HIV in the United States: unmet needs and opportunities for intervention.

Africa born (immigrant) women comprise a disproportionate number of Black women living with HIV in the United States. Though they are at risk for mental health disorders, including psychological distress and depression, little is known about their experience with these important predictors of quality of life, retention in care and adherence to antiretroviral therapy. In this qualitative study, we used constructivist grounded theory to explore the psychosocial and mental health challenges of African born women living with HIV in Boston and New York City. We conducted one-on-one semi-structured interviews with 45 women. Major themes contributing to psychological distress and depressive symptoms included (1) pre-immigration HIV-related stigma; (2) persistent HIV-related stigma post-immigration, (3) undocumented immigration status, (4) economic insecurity, and (5) intimate partner violence (IPV). Many participants described ongoing depressive symptoms or histories of depressive episodes. Yet, most had not been formally diagnosed or treated for depression. Prayer, consultation with faith leadership, and support groups were described most frequently as useful interventions. Future research should explore these thematic areas among a larger, more representative sample of African born women living with HIV to determine differences by country of origin across thematic areas. These data would be useful to inform development of innovative and culturally appropriate interventions.

Epistatic interactions associated with fatty acid concentrations of beef from angus sired beef cattle.

BACKGROUND: Consumers are becoming increasingly conscientious about the nutritional value of their food. Consumption of some fatty acids has been associated with human health traits such as blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Therefore, it is important to investigate genetic variation in content of fatty acids present in meat. Previously publications reported regions of the cattle genome that are additively associated with variation in fatty acid content. This study evaluated epistatic interactions, which could account for additional genetic variation in fatty acid content. RESULTS: Epistatic interactions for 44 fatty acid traits in a population of Angus beef cattle were evaluated with EpiSNPmpi. False discovery rate (FDR) was controlled at 5 % and was limited to well-represented genotypic combinations. Epistatic interactions were detected for 37 triacylglyceride (TAG), 36 phospholipid (PL) fatty acid traits, and three weight traits. A total of 6,181, 7,168, and 0 significant epistatic interactions (FDR < 0.05, 50-animals per genotype combination) were associated with Triacylglyceride fatty acids, Phospholipid fatty acids, and weight traits respectively and most were additive-by-additive interactions. A large number of interactions occurred in potential regions of regulatory control along the chromosomes where genes related to fatty acid metabolism reside. CONCLUSIONS: Many fatty acids were associated with epistatic interactions. Despite a large number of significant interactions, there are a limited number of genomic locations that harbored these interactions. While larger population sizes are needed to accurately validate and quantify these epistatic interactions, the current findings point towards additional genetic variance that can be accounted for within these fatty acid traits.

Genome-wide methylation profile following prenatal and postnatal dietary omega-3 fatty acid supplementation in pigs.

The objective of this study was to determine how prenatal and postnatal dietary omega-3 fatty acids alter white blood cell (leukocyte) DNA methylation of offspring. Fifteen gilts (n = 5 per treatment) were selected from one of three treatments: (i) control diet throughout gestation, lactation and nursery phase (CON); (ii) algal omega-3 fatty acid supplementation enriched in EPA and DHA (Gromega™ ) fed throughout gestation, lactation and nursery phase (Cn3); or (iii) Gromega™ supplementation maternally, during gestation and lactation only, and control diet during the nursery phase (Mn3). At 11 weeks of age and after 8 weeks of post-weaning nursery feeding, buffy coat genomic DNA was subjected to methyl CpG binding protein sequencing. The methylation enriched profile mapped to 26% of the porcine genome. On chromosome 4, a 27.7-kb differentially methylated region downstream of RUNX1T1 was hypomethylated in the Mn3 and Cn3 groups by 91.6% and 85.0% respectively compared to CON pigs. Conversely, hypermethylation was detected in intergenic regions of chromosomes 4 and 12. Regulatory impact factor and differential hubbing methods were used to identify pathways that were coordinately regulated by methylation due to feeding EPA and DHA during pregnancy. Despite limited ability to detect differential methylation, we describe methods that allow the identification of coordinated epigenetic regulation that could not otherwise be detected from subtle single locus changes in methylation. These data provide evidence of novel epigenetic regulation by maternal and early life supplementation of omega-3 fatty acids that may have implications to growth and inflammatory processes.

Reconciling scientific and religious discourse about madness during the age of reason: lessons for today?

This paper argues that the secularization of madness, during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, occurred as a consequence of cultural change that accompanied the social upheavals of the age. In examining the reconciliation of competing explanations for madness, from theological and empirical viewpoints, it is suggested that these paradigms were never totally separated and argued that developments during this period were a consequence of continual interaction and dialogue between these contrasting views. Furthermore, it is suggested that an understanding of these changing times can illuminate present debates surrounding mental illness.

Evidence from thiol histochemistry for homology between the Tabby-crinkled syndrome in mice and human ectodermal dysplasia.

Mutant mice carrying the sex-linked gene Tabby (Ta), and others carrying crinkled (cr), an autosomal mimic of Ta, were studied histochemically with respect to the sulfhydryl: disulfide ratios in their skin and hair and the SH levels in their tooth germs. As compared to normal controls, the mutant animals demonstrated significantly elevated SH:S-S ratios (skin and hair) and SH levels (tooth germs) in the ectodermal components of these tissues. This finding corresponds with previously reported biochemical data on a form of human ectodermal dysplasia (ED), and therefore supports the hypothesis that these mutations in mice may be homologous to the genes for human ED.